Allu lashes out at Congress, Desam

BY J.R.Prasad

Hyderabad Jan. 3: Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi’s brother in law, Mr Allu Aravind, on Saturday lashed out at the Congress and the Telugu Desam for casting aspersions on the megastar to get political mileage. His remarks come soon after the controversial criticism of rival political parties by Chiranjeevi’s brother Pavan Kalyan. Mr Aravind was speaking at the Backward Class Convention organised by the Praja Rajyam on the eve of birth anniversary of Savitri Bai Phule, wife of Jyotirao Phule, at Ravi Narayana Reddy auditorium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Neither the TD nor the Congress had thought of Jyotirao Phule till the Praja Rajyam was launched and were now wooing the BC’s with an eye on their votes, he said. Chiranjeevi’s brother in law has so far been a behind-the-scenes player in Praja Rajyam and this is for the first time that he has come out to the open to criticise rivals. While addressing the BC convention, Mr Aravind also dared the Congress leaders to prove allegations levelled against Chiranjeevi’s blood blank.

“It is ridiculous to cast aspersions on the blood bank which has been supplying blood to the needy for the past ten years freely,” he said. “You should be ashamed of yourselves.” He wondered how politicians who amassed crores of rupees after entering politics could criticise Chiranjeevi, who renounced a prosperous film career to serve people. “Film producers used to queue up for his dates by offering Rs 10 crore,” he said. “But, the megastar voluntarily gave up all that to serve the needy. Is it fair to criticise such a great man?” Meanwhile, some activists of the PCC minority cell staged a demonstration in front of the Praja Rajyam central office at Jubilee Hills demanding unconditional apology from Pavan Kalyan for his comments. Noted script writer, Mr Posani Krishna Murali, joined the Praja Rajyam on Saturday in the presence of Chiranjeevi.